The present disclosure relates generally to endoscopes. In particular, steerable endoscopes manipulated by tension applied on one or more tubes of the endoscope are described.
Endoscopes are used in medical procedures to examine the interior of a hollow organ or cavity of the body. Endoscopes generally include a camera, a light source, and a steering mechanism to perform internal imaging of a patient.
Known endoscopes are not entirely satisfactory for the range of applications in which they are employed. For example, existing endoscopes may be overly bulky and uncomfortable for the patient during use, particularly when used for endoscopy in smaller organs and bodily cavities (e.g., rhinoscopy, bronchoscopy, cystoscopy, etc.). In addition, conventional endoscopes may be disruptive to the patient's internal organs and/or fluids within the organs during use. Further, re-use of endoscopes between different patients can cause cross contamination and/or spread of hospital acquired disease.
Thus, there exists a need for endoscopes that improve upon and advance the design of known endoscopes. Examples of new and useful endoscopes relevant to the needs existing in the field are discussed below.